to the tired
|
women of cal
Girl, I see you
From the muscles flexing in your arms to the curls of your hair
I see your mother
I see my mother in you
I see the 14 hours a day our mothers worked to keep us alive
The sacrifice they laid before us to pave our way to this university
We may have gotten here on our intellect
But we also got here on our mothers’ blessings
Our grandmothers’ prayers
Girl, I see you fucking shit up
I hear what you have to say
Do you know every time you raise your hand in class
Your voice is the sound of every Black and brown girl
Who isn’t sitting here with us?
Every time you bite your tongue, you embody the emotional weight
Our mothers did
Girl, I’m here with you, you’re here with me
From the student to the service worker to the staff and applicant
This note is meant to be the reminder that you deserve this
You deserve the recognition for having survived
You earned the right to look into the mirror and eventually smile
Girl, you’re making it
There is danger in this world that we carry our bodies through
But carry yourself like the woman you are, you aspire to be
Look into the glass windows and admire your reflection
Admire the hair on your body and weight in your presence
Appreciate the scars that remind us of the battles we made it through
On this day, I hope you know it is okay to be tired
Our histories are full of energy that is exhausted on us
Our bodies are extensions of this earth, a shared mother
Every time you wonder if you can make it another day in this world
Remember, you are the world